Boulogne-Billancourt

For other places known as Boulogne, see Boulogne (disambiguation).

Boulogne-Billancourt
Boulogne-Billancourt
Administration
Country France
Region Île-de-France
Department Hauts-de-Seine
Arrondissement Boulogne-Billancourt
Intercommunality Val de Seine
Mayor Pierre-Christophe Baguet
(2008–2014)
Statistics
Elevation 28–40 m (92–130 ft)
Land area1 6.17 km2 (2.38 sq mi)
Population2 112,043  (2006)
 - Density 18,159 /km2 (47,030 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 92012/ 92100
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Boulogne-Billancourt (French pronunciation: [bu.lɔɲ.bi.jɑ̃.kuʁ]; often colloquially called simply Boulogne) is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 8.2 km (5.1 mi) from the centre of Paris. Boulogne-Billancourt is a sub-prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt.

With an average household income of 28,742 €, Boulogne-Billancourt is the wealthiest among French communes of more than 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Paris[1].

Boulogne-Billancourt is the most populous suburb of Paris and one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. Formerly an important industrial site, it has successfully reconverted into business services and is now home to major communication companies headquartered in the Val de Seine business district.

Contents

Name

The original name of the commune was Boulogne-sur-Seine (meaning "Boulogne upon Seine").

Before the 14th century, Boulogne was a small village called Menuls-lès-Saint-Cloud (meaning "Menuls near Saint-Cloud"). In the beginning of the 14th century, King Philip IV of France ordered the building in Menuls-lès-Saint-Cloud of a church dedicated to the virgin of the sanctuary of Boulogne-sur-Mer, then a famous pilgrimage center in northern France. The church, meant to become a pilgrimage centre closer to Paris than the distant city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, was named Notre-Dame de Boulogne la Petite ("Our Lady of Boulogne the Minor"). Gradually, the village of Menuls-lès-Saint-Cloud became known as Boulogne-la-Petite, and later as Boulogne-sur-Seine.

In 1924, Boulogne-sur-Seine was officially renamed Boulogne-Billancourt, to reflect the development of the industrial neighbourhood of Billancourt annexed in 1860 (see history section below).

As for the name Billancourt, it was recorded for the first time in 1150 as Bullencort, sometimes also spelled Bollencort. It comes from Medieval Latin cortem, accusative of cors, meaning "enclosure", "estate", suffixed to the Germanic patronym Buolo (meaning "friend, brother, kinsman"), thus having the meaning of "estate of Buolo".

History

On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighbouring communes. On that occasion, the communes of Auteuil and Passy were disbanded and divided between Boulogne-Billancourt (then called Boulogne-sur-Seine) and the city of Paris. Boulogne-sur-Seine received a small part of the territory of Passy, and about half of the territory of Auteuil (including the area of Billancourt, which belonged to the disbanded commune of Auteuil).

Some of the shooting events of the 1900 Summer Olympics took place in Boulogne-Billancourt.[2]

In 1929, the Bois de Boulogne, which was hitherto divided between the communes of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine, was annexed in its entirety by the city of Paris. On that occasion, Boulogne-Billancourt, to which most of the Bois de Boulogne belonged, lost about half of its territory.

Boulogne-Billancourt is famous for being the birthplace of three major industries: cinema, automobile, and aircraft.

Administration

With the city of Sèvres, Boulogne-Billancourt is part of the communauté d'agglomération Val de Seine.

Transport

Boulogne-Billancourt is served by two stations on Paris Métro Line 10: Boulogne - Jean Jaurès and Boulogne - Pont de Saint-Cloud.

It is also served by three stations on Paris Métro Line 9: Marcel Sembat, Billancourt, and Pont de Sèvres.

Economy

Boulogne-Billancourt hosts the global headquarters of several multinational companies, including:

Prior to 2000 Schneider Electric's head office was in Boulogne-Billancourt.[4]

Pika Édition also has its headquarters in Boulogne-Billancourt.[5]

Main sights

Famous people

Boulogne-Billancourt was the birthplace of:

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Boulogne-Billancourt is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. ^ List of French cities of more than 100,000 inhabitants by wealth (French)
  2. ^ 1900 Summer Olympics official report. p. 16. Accessed 14 November 2010. (French)
  3. ^ "Boulogne-Billancourt - RSAS." Renault. Retrieved on 22 September 2009.
  4. ^ "Schneider-Electric s'est installé chez une filiale." Schneider Electric. Retrieved on 8 July 2010.
  5. ^ "FAQ." Pika Édition. Consulté le 1 maï 2011. "PIKA EDITION 19 bis rue Louis Pasteur 92100 Boulogne"
  6. ^ "Ra'anana: Twin towns & Sister cities - Friends around the World". raanana.muni.il. http://www.raanana.muni.il/English/Topics/My+City/Sister+Cities/. Retrieved 24 March 2010. 

External links

Population over 2 million
Population over 100,000
Population over 75,000
Population over 50,000
Population over 25,000
Population under 25,000
  • 1,460 other communes